Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Gaza: Aid Workers

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government how many aid workers from UNRWA and other agencies have (1) died, and (2) been injured, in the course of aid distribution and the provision of essential services in Gaza to date.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: A shocking number of Palestinian civilians have been killed or injured. We want Israel to stop harming civilians and destroying homes.The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities.We need the fighting to stop immediately to allow humanitarian actors and Gazans to operate and move safely, and enable hostages to be released.We need Israel to ensure effective systems to guarantee the safety of aid convoys, humanitarian operations and IDP returns, and facilitate access.

Gaza: Israel

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government, following the deaths of people in Gaza waiting for an aid convoy on 29 February, and the public statement on 1 March by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs calling for "an urgent investigation and accountability", how many Gazans (1) died, or (2) were injured; and whether such an investigation is under way.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As the Foreign Secretary has said, the deaths of people in Gaza waiting for an aid convoy on 29 February were horrific. We have been clear that an urgent investigation and accountability are needed, and that this must not happen again.We continue to call for International Humanitarian Law to be respected and civilians to be protected. A shocking number of civilians have been killed. The Foreign Secretary raised the above issues with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz on 6 March.We are calling on Israel to increase access for aid through land routes and fully open Ashdod Port, scale up the Jordan corridor with a streamlined screening and delivery process, open a crossing in northern Gaza (Karni, Erez or a new crossing point), fully open Ashdod Port for aid delivery and increase screening capacity at Kerem Shalom and Nitzana to seven days a week and extended hours.

Norwegian Refugee Council: Finance

Baroness Deech: To ask His Majesty's Government how much they donated to the Norwegian Refugee Council in 2022 and 2023, and how much they expect to provide to the Council in 2024, for its work in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK currently provides funding to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) for projects in the Occupied Palestinian Territories including in the West Bank and East Jerusalem through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). The CSSF is a National Security Council led approach to UK effort in fragile and conflict-affected states. We are not currently supporting NRC work in Gaza.The UK has committed the following funding to the NRC in the financial years below:FY 22-23 - £3.07 millionFY 23-24 - £ 3.68 millionFY 24-25 - £ 2.7 million

Africa: Sustainable Development

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 to deliver inclusive and sustainable development in Africa and transform it into "the global powerhouse of the future"; and what engagement they are having with partners to support the delivery of those aims.

Lord Benyon: On 30 October, the UK and the African Union held our inaugural High Level Dialogue, hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Africa. At the Dialogue, Minister Mitchell announced further UK funding in support of the African Union's 2063 Agenda, and for its flagship Silencing the Guns campaign. This includes £10 million in stipends to support troops in Somalia, bringing our total commitment to the AU Transition Mission in Somalia since 2022 to more than £57 million.We are also providing £3 million through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Tackling Deadly Diseases in African Programme, helping the Africa Centres for Disease Control and World Health Organisation address emergency preparedness and response in the continent.

Department for Business and Trade

Horizon IT System

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of when postmasters and postmistresses will receive legal exoneration through legislation; and when they expect that legislation to come into force.

Lord Offord of Garvel: The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 13 March. With the will of both Houses of Parliament, the Government’s intention is that the Bill receives Royal Assent as soon as possible before Summer Recess. Convictions in scope will be quashed on Royal Assent.

INEOS: Ethylene

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environmental impact of the 1,450 kilo-tons of ethylene that will be produced by the Ineos company's 'Project One' each year; what assurances they have received from Ineos about its claim only 10 per cent of theethylene produced will be used for single-use products; what steps they are taking to ensure that the 10-per-cent limit is not exceeded; and what penalties will be applied if the 10-per-cent limit is exceeded.

Lord Offord of Garvel: UKEF undertakes due diligence to ensure that all projects it supports align with robust international Environmental, Social and Human Rights standards. This includes ongoing monitoring to ensure this remains the case throughout the duration of UKEF’s support. UKEF does not attach specific conditions on the end-use of products. Further details about this individual project can be found online at: Category A project supported: INEOS Project One, Belgium - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Falcons

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the peregrine falcon population in England ofthe theft of peregrine falcon eggs for sale of chicks to the Middle East.

Lord Benyon: Defra has not made any assessment of the impact of peregrine falcon egg theft on the peregrine population. The Government does, however, take all wildlife crime seriously, including the theft of wild bird eggs, which is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. In 2022 Defra more than doubled its funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit from a total of £495,000 over the three previous years to £1.2 million for the three-year period of 2022-25 to target wildlife crime priorities, in particular crimes against birds of prey, which is a national wildlife crime priority. Defra supports the work of the Bird of Prey Crime Priority Delivery Group, and that of the CITES Priority Delivery Groups, which bring together police, government and stakeholders from conservation organisations to tackle this type of persecution. In addition, we are providing funding to Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) to develop DNA forensic analysis for the police and other organisations investigating crimes against peregrine falcons. Additionally, the UK is an active member of the Intergovernmental Task Force on the Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds in the Mediterranean (MIKT). The MIKT facilitates international cooperation to tackle bird crime, including the illegal persecution and taking of raptors.

Land Drainage

Baroness Boycott: To ask His Majesty's Government what powers the Environment Agency holds to require companies to release 15-minute flow data when requested, and under which regulations they have this power.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The Environment Agency has the power to require Water Companies to provide detailed flow data under the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016. Regulation 61(1) gives the power to require the information. Permit conditions state reports in relation to 15-minute flow data are to be provided to the Environment Agency upon request within 28 days, unless otherwise specified in writing by the Environment Agency. Authorised officers of the Environment Agency are empowered to inspect and retain copies of records that are relevant to any examination or investigation under Section 108 (4) (k) Environment Act 1995 – requirement to produce records.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Gas Fired Power Stations: Environment Protection

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential environmental impact and carbon emissions associated with the development of gas-fired power plants.

Lord Callanan: Renewables need to be complemented by flexible technologies which can provide power when the wind is not blowing, or the sun does not shine. The Climate Change Committee’s independent analysis finds that a power sector without unabated gas in 2035 would be “likely to increase costs and delivery risks”. Their power sector analysis sees unabated gas providing around 2% of total electricity generation in 2035. In the future, unabated gas plants will only run a limited number of hours per year, and we expect all new plants to be net zero ready.

Tidal Power: Cost Effectiveness

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of tidal turbine technology to produce energy at a cost-effective level.

Lord Callanan: Tidal stream is a novel technology and so initial costs are high. Cost reductions are required to deliver the potential benefits cost-effectively. In 2023 DESNZ published research on ‘Levelised Costs of Electricity from Tidal Stream Energy’. It suggested there is potential for significant cost reductions, subject to deployment. 94MW of new tidal stream power was procured in Contracts for Difference Allocation Rounds 4 and 5. This will increase the UK’s installed capacity tenfold.

Climate Change: Arctic

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scale of the threat to the earth’s climate posed by shrinking Arctic sea ice, in the light of a study by the University of Colorado Boulder, published in Nature on 4 March, which found that the Arctic’s first ice-free period could happen within a decade.

Lord Callanan: The Government has not assessed this review, however, its findings are consistent with the existing scientific literature and conclusions of the Sixth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This stated that the Arctic will likely be practically ice-free at least once before 2050 with more frequent occurrences under higher warming scenarios. The IPCC concluded that it is virtually certain the Arctic will continue to warm at least two times faster than the rest of the globe. Arctic sea ice retreat has and will lead to a range of impacts, including loss in biodiversity and coastal erosion.

Treasury

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government how many checks tookplace on goods moving between Great Britain to Northern Ireland via the UK Internal Market Scheme between 1 February and 10 March.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Full information on the goods moved under the UK Internal Market scheme between 1 February and 10 March 2024 is not currently available. The UK Internal Market Scheme is currently live with over 7700 businesses in the scheme as of 11 March 2024, which includes over 3000 new businesses that did not benefit from the previous UK Trader Scheme.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Community Ownership Fund: Religious Buildings

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding has been awarded in total from the Community Ownership Fund to communities seeking to turn places of worship into assets of community value.

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: To ask His Majesty's Government which places of worship have received support from the Community Ownership Fund.

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enable local communities to safeguard places of worship through the Community Ownership Fund.

Baroness Swinburne: The £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps communities across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets at risk of closure.Current and former places of worship and their attached community hubs are one of the many asset types that the fund supports, though not specifically recorded as such. We recognise the important role these places have in building our social fabric and boosting pride in place by bringing people together. Some of the great projects we have already supported include The Light Church Bradford, The Open House in Sheffield, and The Old Synagogue in Belfast – all of which are providing valuable services to their community.A full list of successful projects is available on GOV.UK at: Community Ownership Fund: successful bidders - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Community Ownership fund (pdf, 659.9KB)

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Lord Boateng: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have raised the issue of fire safety in high-rise dwellings in any international meetings; and what proposals, if any, have been brought forward to share lessons learned and to co-ordinate an international response to improve fire safety between member states of (1) the UN, and (2) the Council of Europe.

Lord Boateng: To ask His Majesty's Government what communication they have had with the governments of (1) Italy, and (2) Spain, about the regulation of building materials used in the construction of high-rise dwellings.

Lord Boateng: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received about international action to improve fire safety in high-rise dwellings following the Grenfell Tower disaster; and what action they have taken.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Government regularly looks at construction practices in other jurisdictions, seeks to learn from any significant incidents and, where appropriate, are always willing to share our experiences with other countries and collaborate further. We should be mindful though that construction practices and methods can be quite different across different countries and so the actions and mechanisms that the UK has put in place would not necessarily be directly transferrable. Experts from the UK participate in both the CEN and ISO committees which facilitate the sharing of international standards. The UK is a member of the Inter-jurisdictional Regula-tory Collaboration Committee (IRCC) which promotes effective international collaboration concerning ‘best current practice’ building regulatory systems.

Home Office

Bassem Abudagga

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in the case of the Palestinian academic Bassem Abudagga, currently studying for his PhD at York St John University, to expedite the visa application process so that his wife and two young children can come from Gaza to the UK.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: We strive to conclude cases within the published guidance and information on study processing times and service standards can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visa-decision-waiting-times-applications-outside-the-uk#faster.Unfortunately, UKVI cannot comment on individual cases or provide information regarding UK visa applications via this channel.

Ministry of Defence

Hawk Aircraft: Training

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to resolve the engine fault on the RAF Hawk T2 advanced jet trainers; how many Hawk T2 jets are currently unavailable for fast-jet pilot training; what delays to fast-jet pilot training have been caused by that engine fault; and what is the additional cost of training pilots overseas as a result.

The Earl of Minto: Defence Equipment & Support is closely engaged with industry to increase the number of serviceable engines through the delivery of the required new component parts and engine upgrade work to address the current limitations. As at 11 March 2024, 16 Hawk T2 aircraft were currently unavailable for fast jet pilot training. There have been minimal delays to Fast Jet pilot training as a result of the Hawk T2 engine issue. Despite the seriousness of the engineering issue, the implementation of mitigation measures such as the international outsourcing of Fast Jet training have reduced the impact to a minimal level. Those trainees on course at the time of the engine issue being discovered were delayed by up to 2-months maximum; no other trainees in the Fast Jet pipeline were adversely impacted or delayed. There has been no impact to the number of ab-initio Fast Jet pilots delivered to the Front Line as a result of the Hawk T2 engine issue and the forecast Fast Jet training requirement for the Front Line will continue to be met. The cost per trainee of contracts with NATO allies are already a matter of public record. The Department is unable to disclose the full value of all contracts, as doing so would prejudice international relations and compromise our friendship with partners and allies.

Department for Education

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Baroness Burt of Solihull: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byBaroness Barran on 17 July 2023 (HL Deb col 2044),what steps they have taken to respond formally to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child's Concluding Observations, published in June 2023.

Baroness Barran: Following the constructive dialogue in Geneva, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child published their Concluding Observations on 2 June 2023. As the lead department, the Department for Education has actively coordinated follow-up activities relating to the United Nations on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), including sharing the Concluding Observations with relevant policy teams across government departments. The government has carefully considered all the recommendations listed in the Concluding Observations document and will continue to do so until the next reporting round. Although the UK is a proud signatory of the UNCRC, it does not always agree with, or implement, the Committee’s recommendations and there is no prerequisite to do so. The Committee will establish and communicate the due date of the next periodic report in due course, which the department will coordinate.

Department of Health and Social Care

Nortriptyline and Prozac: Children

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number prescriptions for fluoxetine and nortriptyline issued in England each year since 2014 to patients under the age of 18.

Lord Markham: The tables below show the total of prescription items for patients aged under 18 who were prescribed fluoxetine or nortriptyline for the partial year of April–Dec 2015, and then full calendar years 2016–23.The NHS Business Services Authority does not hold patient level data prior to April 2015.This information is extracted from ePACT2, using British National Formulary chemical substance, prescribed in England that are then dispensed in the community in England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.Total number of items issued for Fluoxetine HydrochlorideTime PeriodTotal items issued to age range (Under 18)Part year 2015 (Apr – Dec)91,6852016126,1932017129,2052018136,2752019143,2712020147,5552021155,3982022156,3242023149,839 Total number of items issued for NortriptylineTime PeriodTotal items issued to age range (Under 18)Part year 2015 (Apr – Dec)1,48120161,93120171,67320181,51420191,61620201,59920211,77720221,75820231,915 Prescriptions do not state the purpose for which they are written, so there may be instances where medicines are used for other conditions.Many medicines, including medicines used to treat depression, are licensed and prescribed for other conditions. The Department expects prescribers to always satisfy themselves that the medicines they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed.

Evusheld

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the COVID-19 monoclonal antibodyEvusheld 2.0 is being treated asa priority for assessment; and whether they have any plans to rollout a programme to be fast-trackedto vulnerable patients.

Lord Markham: AZD-3152, which has been referred to as Evusheld 2.0, will be evaluated through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) standard appraisal process. The NICE is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits.The NICE has formally started its appraisal of AZD-3152, ahead of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) decision on whether it should be given a United Kingdom marketing authorisation, and expects to invite stakeholder submissions in April 2024. Timelines for both the NICE’s guidance and licensing depend on data from the SUPERNOVA trial being available. AstraZeneca intends to submit clinical data to the NICE and the MHRA at the same time, with the aim that both organisations are able to reach decisions as close together as possible.If AZD-3152 is recommended as clinically and cost effective by the NICE, the NHS in England will be under a statutory requirement to fund AZD-3152 for eligible patients, in line with the NICE’s recommendations. There are no plans for the NHS to routinely fund the medicine ahead of it achieving a licence or a positive technology appraisal recommendation from the NICE.

Montelukast

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are satisfied that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency undertook a sufficiently rigorous approach to the licensing of montelukast, in view of the US Food and Drug Administration’s black box warning about its use.

Lord Markham: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) actively reviews the safety and efficacy of medicines throughout their life cycle. As well as through the licensing process itself, this is done via the Yellow Card safety reporting system, the actions of other international regulators, and patient feedback.The MHRA updated the United Kingdom’s product information on using montelukast in 2019, to provide clearer warnings about the risk of neuropsychiatric side effects. The MHRA is currently conducting a further review of the safety data, and will communicate any changes when that review is concluded.